The tiny village of Dorchester, N.B., is even quieter than normal these days as summer tourism takes a major hit amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Robert Hickman, the village’s deputy mayor, says establishing an Atlantic travel bubble hasn’t yet led to a boost in tourism.
“This year (should) have been the 20th anniversary of the sandpiper festival and unfortunately we have had to cancel it,” Hickman told Global News.
The annual Dorchester Sandpiper Festival typically draws in almost as many summer tourists as there are residents living in the village.
Hickman estimates there are more than 1,000 tourist-goers who come to town.
But there is some hope. Local attractions like the Keillor House Museum and St. James Textile Museum have managed to open amid strict COVID-19 protocol.
But Hickman said that there has been little in the way of tourism, even with the Atlantic bubble now opened up.
“All you have to do is look at the border and the line ups. I think people were anxious to see family above anything else,” said Hickman.
Darlene Turner is a resident who works at a local gas station.
She said a few Nova Scotians rolled through town to buy cigarettes but she isn’t expecting the village will have much of a tourism season this year.
“It is going to hurt them this year big time there is probably going to be some job cuts,” said Turner.
The Keillor House Museum has hired fewer seasonal staff this summer and the facility has been forced to cut back its hours.
“It’s not going to be a good year,” said Donald Alward, the facility’s manager and curator.
But the downtime is allowing them to focus on curating more content for the museum to be showcased in the future, Alward said.
Hickman says visitors who choose to stop into the small village amid the pandemic will find another benefit.
“We are not like a large city, social distancing is not hard here,” he said.
Bill Steele, the owner of the former Dorchester Jail turned Airbnb, said he has been getting calls from Nova Scotians looking to take a tour or stay at the unique short-term rental.
“We are getting some calls now where people from other provinces are interested in taking a tour and spending some time here,” said Steele.
But Steele said his business is still down by as much as 80 per cent compared to last year.
“That is a direct result of not having the people from Ontario coming and visiting us,” Steele said.
The short-term rental operators told Global News that clients have told him that living through COVID-19 and physical distancing and having to wear a mask feels like living in jail.
“People said ‘I have been locked up for months and now I am going to stay in a jail?'” Steele said.
“I am going ‘yeah, it’s a little bit different though and a little bit more adventurous.”
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To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out. In situations where you can’t keep a safe distance from others, public health officials recommend the use of a non-medical face mask or covering to prevent spreading the respiratory droplets that can carry the virus.
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